1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and to a method for the electrochemical processing of components, comprising at least one electrode and at least one electrode holder, with which the electrode is movably mounted so that the electrode can be moved during the electrochemical processing.
2. Discussion of Background Information
The electrochemical processing of metallic components by electrochemical machining (ECM) of metal of the component by electrochemical micromachining (inertial confinement fusion, ICF), precise electrochemical material processing (PEM/PECM) or electropolishing is used in many industrial fields. In electrochemical processing, the material is removed by anodic oxidation in an electrochemical cell, in which the component is connected as the anode, a working electrode is connected as the cathode and a suitable electrolyte is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The dissolving of the metal depends on the current density distribution in the electrolyte and correspondingly on the distance of the electrode from the component to be processed. Consequently, contour-dependent dissolving of the metal can be achieved by a suitably shaped working electrode, so that, by electrochemical processing, exact surface shapes can be imparted to the component to be processed.
For accurate and precise processing of surfaces, either the voltage applied between the cathode and the anode may be applied in a pulsed fashion, or the electrode may be oscillated in order to vary the distance between the surface to be processed and the working electrode, so as to facilitate exchange of the electrolyte in the working gap.
In order to permit maximally exact processing of the surface of the component to be processed and, in particular, to impart the predetermined contour of the component as accurately and effectively as possible, it is necessary to further improve the electrochemical processing methods.
It would therefore be advantageous to be able to provide a device and a method for the electrochemical processing of components, which permit maximally exact and defined processing of metallic components. The corresponding device should be simply constructed and producible, and operable, and it should be possible to carry out the corresponding method in the same way.